Baltimore officials fine property owner for unpermitted demolition

Baltimore officials have imposed a $464,000 fine on the owner of a historic West Baltimore building that was demolished without a permit, a report by The Baltimore Sun says. The former St. Vincent Asylum was demolished in February despite crews receiving a stop work order. The city’s Department of Housing and Community Development launched an investigation.

St. Vincent Asylum was built between 1860 and 1910, a previous Construction & Demolition Recycling report says. It originally housed Catholic nuns who provided housing and medical services to women and children. It was then converted into affordable housing units. The building has been vacant since 2003 and was damaged from a 2015 fire that required more than 100 firefighters to extinguish.

The owner of the building, a New York City-based company called 1411 Division Street LLC, could not be reached by The Baltimore Sun for comment. The report says 1411 Division Street purchased the property in 2016 for $866,000.

City rules give the property owners 30 days to contest penalties. No more work permits will be issued for the property until the $463, 771.94 fine is paid.

The report says the Maryland Department of the Environment issued two violation notices to 1411 Division Street and two to TCG Development Inc., the Baltimore-based contractor that demolished the building, saying the companies violated asbestos rules. Each citation carries fines of up to $25,000 per day but a spokesperson from the department says in the report a decision to impose a penalty has not been made.